Block (NYSE:SQ) Sets New 1-Year High on Analyst Upgrade

Block, Inc. (NYSE:SQ)’s stock price hit a new 52-week high on Wednesday after Canaccord Genuity Group raised their price target on the stock from $95.00 to $120.00. Canaccord Genuity Group currently has a buy rating on the stock. Block traded as high as $89.96 and last traded at $89.35, with a volume of 2729597 shares. The stock had previously closed at $87.25.

A number of other research firms also recently commented on SQ. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $88.00 target price on shares of Block in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Macquarie reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $100.00 price target on shares of Block in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Benchmark reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $99.00 price target on shares of Block in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on Block from $95.00 to $85.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, Oppenheimer started coverage on shares of Block in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. They set a “market perform” rating on the stock. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating, twenty-three have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $91.30.

Insider Activity at Block

In related news, CAO Ajmere Dale sold 1,406 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.70, for a total value of $90,968.20. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 90,960 shares in the company, valued at $5,885,112. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, CAO Ajmere Dale sold 1,406 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.70, for a total transaction of $90,968.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 90,960 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,885,112. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Chrysty Esperanza sold 2,964 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.00, for a total value of $237,120.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 88,607 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,088,560. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 28,678 shares of company stock worth $1,924,112 over the last quarter. 10.49% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Block

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of SQ. SouthState Corp grew its stake in shares of Block by 85.3% in the 3rd quarter. SouthState Corp now owns 391 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 180 shares during the period. LRI Investments LLC purchased a new stake in Block in the first quarter valued at $34,000. Unique Wealth Strategies LLC purchased a new position in Block during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $34,000. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Block in the 2nd quarter valued at $44,000. Finally, V Square Quantitative Management LLC acquired a new position in Block in the third quarter valued at $46,000. 70.44% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Block Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a current ratio of 2.07 and a quick ratio of 2.07. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $69.67 and a 200 day moving average price of $67.09. The firm has a market cap of $52.84 billion, a PE ratio of 50.01, a PEG ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 2.48.

Block Company Profile

Square, Inc provides payment and point-of-sale solutions in the United States and internationally. The company's commerce ecosystem includes point-of-sale software and hardware that enables sellers to turn mobile and computing devices into payment and point-of-sale solutions. It offers hardware products, including Magstripe reader, which enables swiped transactions of magnetic stripe cards; Contactless and chip reader that accepts EMV® chip cards and Near Field Communication payments; Chip card reader, which accepts EMV® chip cards and enables swiped transactions of magnetic stripe cards; Square Stand, which enables an iPad to be used as a payment terminal or full point of sale solution; and Square Register that combines its hardware, point-of-sale software, and payments technology, as well as managed payments solutions.